U.S. law enforcement agents seized documents from a broker and subpoenaed at least two insurance companies in a criminal investigation of whether banks and financial firms conspired to rig bids for investment deals with local governments. The probe by the U.S. Justice Department centers on guaranteed investment contracts, which municipalities buy to hold bond money until funds are needed to pay for projects. The contracts are what banks and brokers used to invest at least $7 billion of proceeds from bonds issued by local governments across the U.S.; that money was never spent to benefit the public, according to an Oct. 4 Bloomberg News report. ``There's a lack of transparency in the whole market,'' said Dan Veres, executive vice president of Grant Street Group, a Pittsburgh-based firm that conducts guaranteed investment contract auctions on its Web site. ``It is ripe for abuse, the whole process.'' ... http://www.bloomberg.com

Bangladesh's seaports reopened on Thursday and traffic streamed back onto highways after a 14-party political alliance temporarily lifted a transport blockade aimed at forcing the removal of controversial election officials.The alliance led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has given the country's interim administration until Sunday to fire the chief election commissioner and his deputies, accused of bias towards the alliance's rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Elections are due in January and hundreds of people have been hurt over the four past days in clashes between Awami League supporters trying to enforce the shutdown and the BNP, which has opposed the removal of the election officials. "We have got a temporary relief with exports and deliveries from the ports and warehouses starting today," said a Dhaka businessman after the blockade was lifted following complaints by the business community that it was hurting ordinary citizens. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2658454

"We reject every form of legislation," the Russian aristocrat and "father of anarchism" Mikhail Bakunin once thundered. The czar banished him to Siberia. But now it seems his ideas are being rediscovered.European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives. They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and warning signs.A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. Ejby, in Denmark, is participating in the experiment, as are Ipswich in England and the Belgian town of Ostende.The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga, in the Dutch province of Western Frisia. A sign by the entrance to the small town (population 1,000) reads "Verkeersbordvrij" -- "free of traffic signs." ...http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448747,00.html

A week after winning back control of the U.S. Congress, divided Democrats in the House defied incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday and elected Steny Hoyer to be majority leader, a Democratic Party aide said.Pelosi, a California liberal, had endorsed Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who helped lead the charge against the Iraq war that was a key factor in races for the House of Representatives and the Senate. The aide said the vote behind closed doors was 149-86. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2658452

A top American defence official has warned that the level of violence in Afghanistan will go on rising. General Michael Maples said that insurgents had expanded their operations and abilities even while incurring serious combat losses. Gen Maples is head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency. More than 3,000 people have died in fighting in Afghanistan this year, according to the New York-based Human Rights Watch. Gen Maples told a Congressional hearing that the insurgents in Afghanistan had strengthened their influence with their core base of Pashtun communities. "Violence this year is likely to be twice as high as the violence level seen in 2005. In 2007, insurgents are likely to sustain their use of more visible, aggressive and lethal tactics," he was quoted saying by the AFP news agency....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6153194.stm

Pakistan's opposition Islamic alliance, the MMA, is threatening country-wide protests over amendments to the country's rape laws. The six-party alliance has been meeting in Islamabad after the national assembly voted that rape should no longer fall under Sharia law. President Pervez Musharraf in a television speech said the Islamists were isolated on the issue. The Sharia laws have been widely criticised by human rights groups. The lower house of the parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to amend the controversial Sharia law that dates back to 1979. Until now, rape cases were dealt with in Sharia courts. Victims had to have four male witnesses to the crime - if not, they faced prosecution for adultery. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6153994.stm